Monday, February 6, 2012

Avoiding Migraines

Do you suffer from migraines? We all probably do from time to time, but if you find you are having problems more often than not, there are a few things you should probably try. See, your migraines might be linked to your sleeping habits. The body's feel-good chemical, Serotonin, is dependent on how much sleep a person gets. If you aren't getting enough sleep, you may also be lacking Serotonin, leading to the migraines.

There are three things that really weigh in on the quality of your sleep: Noise, stress and medications. If you reduce the instances of these three, the better off you will be.

Migraine Triggers

A key fact is that light around your room while you are trying to sleep is a detriment to the sleeping process. Whether you think it does or not, lights will harm your sleep, and so does television, again whether you believe it or not.

Some folks find it hard to fall asleep without the TV on. If you are one of these folks, you don't have to change your patterns, but you should invest in a sleep timer for your TV. To assure that you are getting the best rest possible, you need to avoid all external stimuli that will distract your sleeping brain.

Stress is a whole different problem. Stress in hard to get rid of, but there are ways to keep it in check. One way to do so is to get plenty of exercise, which has the added benefit of keeping you healthy.

You should do your daily exercises before nightfall in order to improve your sleep quality. Ironically, exercising too close to bed time actually harms your ability to sleep.

And, of course, drugs can have a detrimental effect on sleep. If you have prescriptions, try to take them early in the day if at all possible. But the most common problem is something not prescribed: Caffeine.

If you can't dump the caffeine altogether, then you ought to at least decrease the amount you use every day. And, if you do ingest it in some form, don't do so in the afternoon or evening. Finally, caffeine is a notorious migraine trigger, so stay away.

Avoiding Migraines

Migraine Triggers